I believe this 1972 Cadillac Sedan de Ville marks the first donk-type vehicle in the classifieds of Hemmings Motor News. Thirty years from now, will people be examining this trend with the same regard that we currently give muscle cars and hot rods, or will it go the way of fox tails and stinkbug-stance Pintos? From the seller’s description:

Those wheels are idiotic. He is wasting money selling them with the car. I know attorneys who do criminal cases in exchange for wheels like those. Funny how many criminals have no money, yet have sets of those wheels available for barter.

Yeah, I don’t get it either. I would think that the seller would be playing more to the audience for the car by putting it back on the stock wheels – then again, all the cars I own have dog dish hubcaps on them, so what do I know about style?

those wheels have to go! these cars look much better slightly lowered, with original caps, and this heavy rig would play hell with the ride, handling, and suspension components on those skinny tires. not to mention the wheels, should you hit a hole or speed bump.

No way. Every time I see it, I tell myself, what a shame. It’s like framing the Mona Lisa in tacky neon lighting. It’s totally incongrous with the aesthetics of the vehicle, not that I’m totally against minor modifications in keeping with the spirit of the original design.

There have been far worse aesthetic atrocities inflicted on nicer vehicles, and seeing as the seller is including the originals, I don’t think this one is off-the-charts terrible. That being said, I do hope that this type of “donk-ifing” fades away sooner rather than later.

I bet he’s got a third of the asking price wrapped up in those wheels & tires easily. 22′s ain’t cheap.

I’m a fan of bigger wheels on old cars, but prefer 17′s or 18′s. The 20′s, 22′s & 24′s look ridiculous with the required rubber band tires. 17′s or 18′s allow some meatier rubber which is more appropriate for the older cars.

I agree, I’ve heard of a company that is making old school wires in 15″-17″ they will even two tone them to match your paint they look even better wrapped in 2-3″ white walls…real class. Ive got a ’72 C.D.V. as well with just 78,000 on the odo And would never change the dog dishes and 2″ whites

[...] Just saw this one over on Hemmings.It is a 1972 Cadillac for sale. The interesting thing is the way the owner put on these special rims but is throwing in the original rims also. Lots of people think the car would sell better with the original rims on it, myself included. 1972 Cadillac for sale. [...]

Yeah. I understand gentle modding, resto-modding, resto-rodding, etc. In some ways you modernize or improve the vehicle’s performance while celebrating its original design. We can agree to disagree about how appropriate it is to whatever vehicle, but I can at least understand and respect the concept behind it.

These wheels make the vehicle ride and handle worse. They are incredibly fragile and make a statement only in their incongruity. It’s hard to criticize the aesthetic without muddying the waters with implications of racism, but, seriously, what is good about this except its shock value? A few years ago, at a car show, I was checking out the diecasts. I saw a few really cool things, cars you rarely see in diecast. ’60′s Chevy sedans and the like. But wait! They were made by some company called DUB, and they had grotesquely oversized wheels. I was deeply disappointed.

Sort of like the backwards baseball caps and the pants hanging to the knees. Sure, it makes a statement, and that statement is: “Check me out: I’m such a dunce that I don’t know how to wear clothes properly.” Something analogous is doing on with the donk atrociousness, and those interested in preserving good taste will indeed speak out.

I don’t disagree, but it doesn’t cost much to sag your pants and turn your cap around. People are spending big bucks to do this to cars (even Bentley owners, see the photo I posted in my first post above) so there must be a strong aesthetic appeal in some quarters; enough to make it seem like a worthwhile investment.

We have had a few Lincoln Town Cars with the same wheels around north Fort Worth and I have to admit it seems like putting roller skates on an elephant! I can’t imagine that they improve the ride. I am sure it is the opposite, and probably hard on the suspension parts. Guessing it is the shock value, but how about a more appropriate car than a Lincoln or Caddy.

Crappy caddy, huh Steve? Do your research pal. The 472 motor under that hood is renowned in the car world as they were arguably the most durable gasoline engines the world has ever seen. All the nickel they used in the valve trains and the unbreakable cranks made them indestructible favorites of hot rodders who like to drop them into the “more desirable” cars that you are probably talking about. Scrap the crappy hot wheels rims and fit that sled with the original pancake caps and dual stripe whites. (Remember those guys? They still make em’.) Cadillac: Standard of the World.